Confederate Jasmine

Our first vine in this series is the Confederate Jasmine.  It does well in our climate when shaded a bit from the summer sun.  It can take the cold winter temps and is green all year round!!!  I'd call this plant a moderate grower here in Tucson. If I had to describe this plant, I'd describe it as a "slowly but surely" plant as it makes its' way up a trellis or string.  While it isn't a climber(that clings on its' own), it is a twining vine that needs a little human intervention at first to position the plant in the right direction.  This is a very common vine around town and has fragrant small white flowers in spring.  These vines can grow to be 20 to 30 feet tall here....some even longer.  They are attractive all year round, but they will take their time to cover that trellis or ramada in your yard, but it will cover the hardscape. Patience is required.  We have several of this type of Jasmine growing around the property and it is THE most durable of the Jasmine family for the Tucson area.  I'll cover the "other" 3 in tomorrow's post.  They take full morning sun and partial shade during the hot afternoon side.  I have these vines growing on the Northern Side of our building and around our courtyard.  If you need to trust a plant to grow without a lot of care, this is one to consider.  In fact, I would call it a perfect zone 9 plant.  Our freeze was below 20 degrees at night several weeks ago and it still survived the cold.  With the warmer weather, it will start to grow and bush out more with the eventual white flowers.  If you are limited on money and need a dependable vine, I highly recommend the Confederate Jasmine. 

Vines are fun because they add vertical color and extend your garden in different ways.  I am working on several posts coming up after the vines series is finished on the plants that died during our historical freeze and those that snapped back with a vengeance.  Stay tuned for much more from the Las Aventuras blog.